Updates and rambling on about various things

[strangetomato]

It's a grab bag of topics, folks...


So, what is this... Wednesday? *scratches head* Could I post the next chapter by the end of the week? I haven't actually taken any photos for it yet, but maybe I could put it together in a couple of days.

I'm thinking of taking a different approach to some of the upcoming chapters, and making them more centrally focused on one character or group of characters. The next chapter will have two parts (was originally going to be one, but I thought I'd add a little look at Erin and Circe before I got to Nervous - that side of the plot needs to catch up with itself). After that, I'm going to take all the college kids up to graduation (well, not Buck, Jill, etc.), but I think I'm going to tackle them seperately. There'll be a chapter on the trio, one just about Frances, one about Tank (yeah, I could combine those, but maybe not...). There'll be some overlap there with events in those sections, but I think this will work. I'll probably send Vidcund to Veronaville in there somewhere too.

So... it's good to have a plan of action. Next up: get some momentum back.

 

Oh, and squirrel_tamer has been feeding my creativity in a big way with some new drawings, and she REALLY outdid herself on the latest one. (Seriously, I'd like to print this out and frame it... and maybe I will.) It really captures the whole J/R/O thing so well for me, and it's a gorgeous drawing. Scroll up for some other sketches, and she posted this set recently too - also very cool. (I'm pretty sure those are the only ones I haven't linked to yet.)

Thanks a BILLION for these, ST (hey, we have the same initials. How... confusing). ^_^ You're super cool. I liked your suggested soundtrack for that latest drawing, but I'd also like to suggest Illuminated by Weird War. Have a listen (it's on Youtube)... I think it really works. *adjusts nerdly glasses*

Speaking of nerds,  If you'll allow me to nerd out about characterization a little here, I love how she's drawn their bodies in this one. It really exaggerates the differences in heights and builds in the way I imagine they differ. Ophelia is so cute and pear-shaped. And short... or, at least, she's short compared to Johnny. Johnny is tall (I think of PT as being tall too, so perhaps it's an alien thing) and thin. He's athletic, and not really underweight, but maybe bordering on it. Ripp probably tells him that he needs to eat more meat. *snicker* I really like the image of Johnny as this willowy, green, vegan athlete. It's pretty kickass to me. 

Ripp is physically average, but has a hint of those solid "army guy" genetics, and you can tell he could be really well built, like Tank is, if he bothered to try (though, of course, he doesn't). He's somewhat broad-shouldered and it all looks pretty good, but get closer and he feels... kinda flabby.

I told you this would be nerdy. ;)

I also sometimes think about how their voices would sound, and I've made reference to it here and there in the story (same goes for those body types too - I've mentioned it a couple of times). Some characters give off really definite "voices" like that when I'm writing their dialogue. I'll spare you the details for now... unless you're really interested.

 

I've been playing with Apartment Life a little, and I do enjoy a lot of the new features. There are some issues with it, of course, but MATY has provided some fixes (be sure to get the critical fix and the updated notownieregen - that fixes an NPC spawning issue similar to the one from BV - both hacks are in the updated Director's Cut). I'm happy to have the Director's Cut again, since there are some real sanity-savers in there, though I always spend some time weeding out all the hacks I don't like. Traditional Marriage? Umm, no thanks... I can decide who's name gets taken myself.

Speaking of the Director's Cut, there are always a number of hacks that are unlisted in the hack description thread. Does anyone know how to find information on those? I know it's part of the whole "director's cut" thing and I don't get to know what they do because I'm not "awesome" enough, but most actual director's cut dvds come with hours of commentary that over-explain the movie in question. I don't see why we can't get a simple one-liner about what those mystery hacks do.

But anyway... I'm lucky to have the Director's Cut at all, aren't I? I shouldn't complain.


 

Comments

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

Okay... you know that piece of art did something to me because I think Ophelia looks ADORABLE in it! OMG believe it or not it actually is making me a bit excited for Sims 3, because maybe... just maybe... we'll be able to re create all of our Strangetown characters in it and make them look more like that. Seriously. I completely agree with your body-type assesments of them. I see Ophelia as being sassy and not exactly fat, but roundish with some boobage and boot-ay on her, and Johnny... yes, yes yes on the tall willowy perhaps bordering on underweight (for a human) and Ripp having a decent body without even trying because of his genetics, but letting it go just a bit from laziness. :D Perfect!

I would love to know how you hear their voices. :D

[meetme2theriver.livejournal.com]

That is a pretty awesome drawing. :D

I'm excited that you're getting into your story again! I've missed it. All those topics sound quite interesting. I was wondering when they would all graduate. :)

I always take out the Traditional Marriage, too. Ugh. I use the last name chooser from MTS2 instead. Other than that, I keep most things in, except for a couple which I can't remember right now. :p Usually you can find out what the mystery hacks do if you dig around enough in the various threads on MATY, but it's not always easy. Any in particular you wonder about? I may (or may not) know.

[soniabigcheese.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. That main picture is so intense. It speaks volumes without saying anything (if you know what I mean).

Thanks for the little 'tasters' too. I'm looking forward to hearing more from our little community of Sims. I can't really say Strangetown community now, as they're scattered from far and wide.

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm hopelessly failing at finding which version of the DC I should d/l at MATY. Ughhh... that website should have a warning on it: Do Not Try To Find Anything If You Have An IQ Of Less Than 200 Because YOU WILL FAIL.


Nevermind... I found it. It was like, AT THE TOP. Sheesh.
*is embarrassed and crawls into a hole*

[tanathir.livejournal.com]

I love the way you nerd out about the characters. It shows a real caring and attention to detail, signs of a good writer. And I really like your idea of a threesome. I recently started work on an OT3 in the Matrix fandom, and ever since I've been fascinated by the group dynamics of a triad as opposed to a traditional couple. If done right, it's a beautiful thing to read.

I still have plans to go back and read your stuffs from the beginning, BTW. It just seems too great not to.

[a-gates.livejournal.com]

THe dynmaics in a couple compare to a trio is so much more intense that is why I'm so addicted to the J/R/O. I can't wait to read more just because of it. I love anything you do, so take your time and don't pressure youself, these drabbles and updates are fine by me until you decide what to produce. I'll wait because I know that it will be magnifescent.

[swhedonberry.livejournal.com]

No need to feel too nerdly about intense characterization. I do it all the time, even down to how their voices sound in my head. My characters are very real to me and I take how I write them very seriously. Damn, I hope that I don't sound creepy now. Changing back to the subject at hand...

I love in the artwork that Ophelia's hips are so round. Though we have pictures of her, that's always how I've seen her. The emotion of it is really beautiful and really shows off Johnny as the awkward father figure of the three. In so many ways, Johnny strikes me as the father that Ripp always wanted. He's someone who cares enough to be tough with him, but loves him enough to accept him for who he is.

I'm wondering how many returning characters we'll see in Sims 3. Strangetown is easily my favorite of the existing hoods, but I've heard rumor that I'm in the minority.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

Ah, I'm super excited about potential updates. I love them so. Though, I also really love all the little drabble-y bits as well.

Thanks for the shout-outs once again. I always appreciate it. Also, yay music suggestions! I'll definitely have to check that one out.

I really tried to bring around the body types this time. That really was a focus of this. I know we've definitely discussed before how we see each of these guys physically and I wanted to try and bring that out. I also have this weird theory that (and this is ignoring the fact that sims don't actually have body hair) the aliens are almost completely hairless or that the hair on their arms and such is just tiny little bits. I'm not sure why, that's just how I see them. Whereas I imagine Tank and Ripp have manly arm hair, it seems to me that Johnny... wouldn't.

Yum yum voices. Do tell. Hmmm. Any specific (voice) actors in mind? I do that with my own characters all the time.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

I never use the director's cut. There's things in there he changes that I actually like in the game. One thing I can suggest for finding out what something does, though, is look it up in the non-DC directory and see if it's there. If it's there, it should have its own RTFM.

I know he's got some stuff in the DC that's not in other places, but hopefully you can find out what everything does. :)

[pixelcurious.livejournal.com]

I'm such a fan of squirrel tamer's drawings, and that one is a masterpiece. LOVE it.

I think it's a good idea to focus chapters on one character or group. Probably easier both to shoot and to write. Also, though I like the long chapters, you can probably make these a bit shorter so they don't become onerous chores to complete.

I'd almost forgotten about Erin and her clones. That's an amusing and intriguing part of the plot, though, so it will be neat to see more. And Nervous... I've been wondering how his story will work in with the rest. It seems like there's a slow fire burning there, plot wise, that eventually will blow like a volcano... though maybe I am reading too much into things. :)

I'm also curious about the Curiouses, and Lola/Chloe. But I understand you can't give every character a chance in the limelight. Some of them have to remain on the sidelines.

[simgarooop.livejournal.com]

That's an amazing picture! I really liked it, and I agree with what you say about their body differences. I wish we could change the height of our sims and I hoped that'd be available for Sims 3 (not that I'll actually get it as soon as it comes out, I don't think my laptop will run it and there's still a lot to enjoy with the Sims 2 for me). Everytime I make my self-sim, I wish I could make her really tall, as that's one of my recognizable characteristics. And I also imagine some of my Brokes with different heights :P.

It seems you have a path to follow for the next chapters. Sometimes is really challenging (and fun) to change the direction or use a different point of view. Right now I'm trying to add bits from the future as a prologue of my current chapters and it's been refreshing too. I hope you get back your momentum ^^

As someone above said, there is a document with all the hack descriptions. Some of them are very interesting (or fix annoyances I never noticed). I usually take out the romance mod, the traditional marriage, the harder jobs, the no dormie respawn (I use clean templates, so I need some dormies too) and the "BFF are for 12" hacks (I LIKE that feature!). I don't remember the rest pretty well.

I'm happy to have the Directors cut! And now that Squinge is finally updating his hacks, I hope I'll get an improved Hula Hack (the most overused mod I have) too! And the Insim is almost ready too. So this time it's been easier to make the transition between FT and AL for me ^^.

[a-gates.livejournal.com]

What strangetown likers are in the minority? But I love strangetown!

[dragancaor.livejournal.com]

Those pictures are fantastic! She has a brilliant style =D

I wouldn't say you're being too nerdy. In depth characterisation like that is what keeps a story strong. Likely one of the reasons yours is so damn good =)

[80sfiend.livejournal.com]

Awww what a great picture. She's so fabulous for doing those. :)

Also, totally agree that Johnny is all willowy green alien guy. :) Totally fits him! And ditto for the other two.